Electric battery.



PATENTED 00T. 4, 190i.

No. 'TV1-,498.

I. L. ROBERTS.

ELECTRIC BATTERY.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 14, 190s.

No MODEL.

l MMI Wz'inesses:

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UNITED STATES Patented October 4, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

ISAIAH L. ROBERTS, OF NE7V YORK. N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ECONOMIC ELECTRICCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEIV YORK.

ELEC- rale BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,498, dated October4, 1904. Application led October 14, 1903. Serial No. 176.960. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, IsAiAH L. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New York', county of Kings, andA State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricBatteries, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad to the drawings accompanying and forming part of the same.

My invention relates moreparticularly to that class of batteries knownas dry cells, and has for its chief objects to prolong the life of thedepolarizing agent and to increase the quantity of energy delivered.Heretofore such batteries have been made by placing various depolarizingcompounds, electrolytes, and excitants, together with the electrodes, inan air-tight vessel and sealing the same, so as to exclude the air. In acell so constructed reliance for depolarization is placed solely on thedepolarizing agent sealed in the receptacle, with the result that whenthis agent is exhausted the battery is useless.

I have found, however, that if an oxygenabsorbing depolarizer is used inthe cell and air is permitted to permeate the depolarizing andconducting mass the oxygen consumed from the former will be restored tothe depolizer from the air, thereby securing the advantages mentionedabove.

Although a battery embodying my invention may be constructed in variousways, I`

have devised a novel form which has been found to give particularly goodresults', and it is therefore the form which Iprefer to use. Any drybattery construction, however, in which the oxygen consumed in thebattery is drawn from the air or other atmospheric medium directly orindirectly is clearly within the scope of my invention.

Referring now to the drawings, which show a type of the novel formmentioned above, Figure l is a transverse section of the same, and Eig.2 is a horizontal section.

The sides of the cell are preferably formed by plates l l and the endsby strips 2 2, usually of wood, united in any convenient manner.

3 3 are wooden frames of suitable size having their open sides coveredby sheets of cloth 4 4, the whole forming a pair of receptacles whichare filled with a mass of conducting and depolarizing material 5.Through one side of each of the frames, preferably Athe upper side,extend a number of carbon rods 6.

The conducting and depolarizing materials mentioned are usually utilizedin the form of a paste made of powdered conducting carbon and powderedmanganese dioxid, wet with a solution of zinc chlorid. The positiveelement, a sheet of zinc 7, is covered on both sides with aliquid-absorbing medium 8 8, such as blotting-paper or wood-pulp, whichis moistened with a solution of zinc chlorid.

The parts described are assembled as shown in the drawings. In order toprovide large spaces for circulation of the surrounding atmosphere andto aid in holding the parts firmly and closely together, a number ofstrips 9 are provided bearing against the cloth sides of thedepolarizer-receptacles.

The primary action of the battery whereby the electric energy isproduced is well known. However, instead of the oxygen of the manganesedioxid being used up it is constantly renewed by that absorbed from theair. The life of the battery is therefore limited only by the zincplate, and when the latter is consumed the battery may be readilyrenewed 8o simply by inserting a new zinc. In order that the cell mayalways be ready for action, there must be some moisture in the absorbentcovering of the zinc and -in the mass which is in contact with theconducting- S 5 carbons. To insure this effect, a solution of adeliquescent salt, such as chlorid of zinc, is used, as beforementioned. However, in a very dry atmosphere chlorids, no matter howdeliquesce'nt they may be, will tend to crys- 90 trallize. To provideagainst such conditions, a pan 10 may be employed for holding a quantityof water into which the absorbent covering of the zinc dips, therebytaking up water by capillary attraction.

If desired, the whole battery may be constructed dry. In that case adeliquescent salt solution is put into the pan 10 and will be drawntherefrom by the covering of the Zinc until the various parts aremoistened, whereupon the cell is ready for use.

It is obvious, of course, that other oxids than manganese dioxid may beused as depolarizers, such as the oxids of copper, silver, mercury,platinum, &c. Black or [inely-divided platinum acts best, but is toocostly for general use.

What I claim isl. In an electric dry battery, in combination, a positiveelement, a negative element, a depolarizing agent, and means whereby thcoxygen consumed in the operation of the battery is replaced by oxygenfrom the air, as set forth.

2. In an electric dry battery, in combination, a positive element, anegative element, a depolarizing agent, and means for permittingcirculation of air around the negative element, as set forth.

3. In an electric battery, in combination, a positive element, aseparator of absorbent material, a negative element consisting of one ormore conductors in contact with a plurality of powdered or granulatedsubstances, one or more of which is conducting, wet with a conductingsolution, and means for supplying air to the negative element, as setforth.

4. In an electric battery, in combination, a positive element, aseparator of absorbent material, a negative element consisting of onelor more conductors in contactwith a mass of conducting and depolarizingsubstances wet with asolution of adeliquescent substance,and means forsupplying oxygen to the depolarizing substance or substances in thenegative element, as set forth.

5. An element for electric batteries comprising, in combination, areceptacle having two opposite sides formed of porous, absorband aplurality of devices on the inner surface of the outer receptacle toform air-spaces between said outer receptacle and the porous walls ofthe negative element, as set forth.

7. In an electric battery, the combination with a positive element, anegative element, and an absorbent separator between the elements, of areceptacle for holding a liquid into which the separator extends,whereby the latter is kept constantly moist, as set forth.

8. In an electric dry battery, in combination, a sheet of zincconstituting a positive l element, a layer of absorbent material on eachside of said sheet of zinc, and negative elements each consistingof areceptacle having a plurality of porous walls, one or more carbonconductors extending' into said receptacle, and a mass of conducting anddepolarizing materials surrounding' the carbon conductors in thereceptacle, said layers of absorbent material and the negative elementsbeing wet with a conducting liquid, and means for holding the elementsin assembled position, as set forth.

ISAIAH L. ROBERTS. lVitnesses:

M. LAwsoN Dylan, S. S. DUNHAM.

